Baby's First ER Trip

As the First Birthday mark came and went, I had a little bit of sadness at our dwindling list of "Firsts" to look forward to. Sure, there's steps, and words, and days of school, and fun things like that. But with the First Birthday, all the other holidays have past and have lost the title of "First". We've had first smiles and first laughs and first time trying solid food. My babies are growing up and it makes me kinda sad, yall. Each First we pass makes me a little bit more nostalgic.

Except this one. This one was no fun.

To my credit, we made it 9 months out of the hospital - and through RSV season! - before we had to go back. That's pretty good, by preemie standards.

All day Thursday though, and into Friday, Audrey was pretty fussy. She can be a little on the dramatic side sometimes (I have no idea where she gets it from) so I chalked it up to teething, and offered up all my go-to teething tricks. Friday she catnapped all day (so not like her) and before lunchtime she felt a little warm, so I added a dose of Tylenol to the mix before I fed her and put her down for her nap. When my mom (who was visiting) got her up from that nap, Audrey was burning up. I scrambled for the thermometer, stuck it under her armpit, and watched the numbers creep up. And up. And up.

103.2

I'd be lying if I said I didn't panic a little. I have never seen the numbers on a thermometer go that high. I called our pediatrician in a panic, but seeing as it was late Friday afternoon by this point he said that our best bet would be to skip his office and go straight the the ER at the Children's Hospital. We called Chris to come home early, left Grayson with my mom and headed out.

I've never been to the ER. I've never broken a bone or had food poisoning bad enough to warrant a visit *knocks on wood*. I've been to the hospital before - I had outpatient surgery once, and I visited my brother when we was born. And that whole 15-day stay in L&D when I had the babies. But I had never been to the ER. I was only slightly terrified.

When we got there though, it really wasn't that bad. They triaged her, took her vitals, and we only waited about 30 minutes before we were shown to a room.

Everyone at Scottish Rite was wonderful. The nurses and doctor we saw were so good with Audrey. Don't get me wrong, the visit itself was miserable. They had to insert a catheter to get a urine sample, and four nurses all tried to get blood from her with no success (apparently her veins are still terrible from all the NICU sticks). But the people? Fantastic.

All her tests came back normal though, and her fever broke with the combination of some Motrin plus one more dose of Tylenol and she was back to her smiley, charming self. The doctor said it was most likely just a virus. She also said that A was one of the prettiest babies she had ever seen. I don't now jack about the medical part but I totally agree with her on the latter :)

And by the next day, she was totally back to normal. She felt so good, in fact, that she was able to figure out this new trick.

Please send help.

Party On, Party People

The babies' party was a couple weeks ago (which still hasn't been enough time for me to get used to the idea that I have one year olds OMG) and I just got our pictures back! My best friend's little sister is a really fabulous photographer and she came to the party to celebrate with us and capture our day! You can check Jodi out on her Facebook fan page but before you do that, look at our awesome party pictures!

Cupcakes and smash cakes, made by a wonderful family friend. Thanks, Mrs. Kathy!

Birthday babies!

Birthday girl!

How CUTE was her hairbow? Our outfits were from P is for Pigtails, and Lisa was a dream to work with!

Party animal :)

Hanging out with our BFF Holden, who happens to be the afore mentioned best friend's baby/photographer's nephew (and also one of Audrey's future suitors).

Hmmm.... not so sure about this cake thing.

Grayson was a PRO at it though!

Cleaning up the aftermath :)

Grayson thinks the party was a great success.

And Audrey and I agree!


Thanks to everyone who was able to come out and make our day special, and thanks to you for indulging this mama and letting me share those adorable pictures :) I think my kids are so stinkin cute and I don't think I'm one bit biased about that, either.

My Lovin' Arms Are For You

I knew from Day 1 that Chris was going to be a fantastic daddy. It was one of the (many) things that made me fall in love with him.

He has exceeded every expectation I have had.

Happy birthday to the most amazing husband and father I could have ever hoped to dream for. We love you!!!

In a world
That gets lost making plans
I'll just be your woman
And you can be my man
--Green River Ordinance, Dancing Shoes



*Photo courtesy of the wonderful and brilliantly talented Mrs. Jennifer LeMay of Photojennix Photography!

No Longer Will We Weep

Easter was our first holiday with the babies. Last year, I spent the day hunched over tiny plastic boxes, using one finger to gently stroke those teeny little miracles.

In the midst of my sadness at just how unfair it all was, I was sent a really lovely message from the lady who was my LifeTeen leader in high school. KJ was pretty awesome back then, and she has since moved away and started an adorable family of her own. In her message, she wrote this:
"I know everyone will say not to be hard on yourself, but I also know that as a Mom, it's what we do. I encourage you to ask for Mary's intercession* because she can relate to you better than anyone. After all, standing helplessly at the Crucifixion, she surely had to feel like the worst Mom ever as she stood there unable to stop her son's pain and feeling somehow responsible."

I mean... woah, right? What a profound statement. But really, how true! If anyone could understand the pain a Mama's heart feels at a hurting child, it's Mary. Her Son felt the ultimate pain, made the ultimate sacrifice, for us. And she was there to witness it.

I'm so thankful for a Savior who was hung on an old cross so many years ago as His mama watched, who rose again and hugged that mama one more time as He wiped all our sins clean. I've relied on the grace of Jesus many, many, many times in the last year, and I am unendingly grateful for where we are now. This Easter was so beautiful.

Mary in your mourning
Turn now as you weep
Look up to see a Savior
Oh and, sing Mary sing
--Jennifer Knapp, Sing Mary Sing



*For those of you who don't know, I was born and raised Catholic. If you're interested in what it means to ask for an intercession, there's a good article on it here.